Bahamut
'Bahamut' (bah-hahm-ut) is revered in many locales. Though all good dragons pay homage to Bahamut, gold, silver, and brass dragons hold him in particularly high regard. Other dragons, even chromatic ones (except perhaps his archrival Tiamat), respect Bahamut for his wisdom and power. In his natural form, Bahamut is a long, sinuous dragon covered in silver-white scales that sparkle and gleam even in the dimmest light. Bahamut’s catlike eyes are deep blue, as azure as a midsummer sky, some say. Others insist that Bahamut’s eyes are a frosty indigo, like the heart of a glacier. Perhaps the two accounts merely reflect the Platinum Dragon’s shifting moods. Dogma Bahamut is stern and very disapproving of evil. He brooks no excuses for evil acts. In spite of this, he is among the most compassionate beings in the multiverse. He has limitless empathy for the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the helpless. He urges his followers to promote the cause of good, but prefers to let beings fight their own battles when they can. To Bahamut, it is better to offer information, healing, or a (temporary) safe refuge rather than to take other’s burdens upon oneself. Bahamut is served by seven great gold wyrms that often accompany him or one of his avatars. Clergy and Temples Bahamut has few clerics and even fewer temples. He accepts only good clerics. Clerics of Bahamut, be they dragons, half-dragons, or other beings attracted to Bahamut’s philosophy, strive to take constant, but subtle action on behalf of good, intervening wherever they are needed but striving to do as little harm in the process as possible. Many gold, silver, and brass dragons maintain simple shrines to Bahamut in their lairs, usually nothing more elaborate than Bahamut’s symbol scribed on a wall. Powers and Abilities Bahamut is immortal. He can can see, hear, touch, and smell at a distance of ten miles. In addition, he can see invisible and ethereal creatures. If he chooses, she can perceive anything within ten miles of her worshipers, holy sites, objects, or any location where one of his titles or name was spoken in the last hour. Bahamut can understand, speak, and read all languages and speak directly to all beings within 10 miles, and teleport at will. Bahamut can also breathe underwater indefinitely (though as a deity, he has no real need to breathe). He can freely use his breath weapons, spells, and other abilities while submerged. Bahamut can destroy earth creatures, and has the power to command air creatures. Bahamut can extend his senses to up to five locations at once, and block the sensing power of deities with power equal to or less than his. He can sense anything that affects the welfare of metallic dragons, so long as the event in question affects at least five hundred dragons. Bahamut visits the world often, usually in the guise of an old, old man or a callow youth. He is always accompanied by an honor guard of seven great gold wyrms who take the forms of fellow travelers or animals. Bahamut keeps a wary eye out for the machinations of Tiamat, taking whatever actions he deems necessary to check the spread of her influence and to undo whatever damage she has done. Bahamut never turns his back on a lawful good creature in peril, but seldom intervenes directly if Tiamat is not involved. Instead, he offers healing, advice, or information. Bahamut is the old hermit whose subtle prophecy unlocks a great mystery, or the kind stranger who offers a safe refuge or that badly needed spell. Bahamut’s wanderings have given rise to many bards’ tales, the best known of which relates a roadside meeting with an unassuming old man and his flock of seven trained canaries. None would have been the wiser, says the tale, had a band of ogres led by an ogre mage not swept down upon the crowd. Breath Weapon Bahamut has three different breath weapons available to him, although he can only use one at a time. His ice breath is the most clear-cut of his breath attacks; it is simply a fierce blast of incredibly cold air. His "gaseous form" breath is a swirling mist that stuns and turns anything (or anyone) it hits into a gaseous figure. The effect eventually wears off and objects return to their original solidity. Bahamut's most devastating attack is his disintegration breath, where a beam of blue light issues from his mouth and destroys everything in its path. Category:Deity Category:Dragon Category:Metallic Dragon